As a conventional electric vacuum cleaner provided with an ozone generating function, the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H1-238815 will be described below with reference to FIG. 30. In this conventional electric vacuum cleaner, inside a body 101 thereof is formed a suction air passage 104 that runs from a hose socket 102 formed in the front wall of the body 101 to an exhaust opening 103 formed in the rear wall of the body 101, and in this suction air passage 104 are arranged a dust collection bag 105, a dust filter 106, and an electric blower 107 in this order. The dust collection bag 105 permits air to pass therethrough. The electric blower 107 communicates with the exhaust opening 103.
When the electric blower 107 is driven, air containing dust is sucked in through a suction hose 108 fitted into the hose socket 102, is then passed through the dust collection bag 105, dust filter 106, and electric blower 107, and is then discharged out of the body 101 through the exhaust opening 103. Meanwhile, the dust collection bag 105 removes the dust contained in the air.
On the other hand, inside the body 101 of this electric vacuum cleaner, outside and above the suction air passage 104 is formed an ozone reservoir 109, in which an ozone generator 110 is provided. While the electric blower 107 is operating, ozone generated by the ozone generator 110 is reserved in the ozone reservoir 109, and, when the electric blower 107 is de-energized, valves 111 and 112 are opened so that the reserved ozone is fed into the suction air passage 104 so as to kill germs present in the suction air passage 104.
In this conventional electric vacuum cleaner, the ozone fed into the suction air passage 104 acts on the stream of air that has been cleaned by the dust collection bag 105, but does not sufficiently act on the dust and germs collected in the dust collection bag 105. This makes it impossible for ozone to exert a satisfactory antibacterial effect.
Moreover, since ozone is reserved in the ozone reservoir 109 during operation, the body 101, which is formed of synthetic resin, is exposed to the reserved ozone for a long time. This causes the body 101 to deteriorate, making it prone to cracks and breakage in the relevant part thereof. In particular, in a vacuum-type cleaner, cracks are likely to develop in a part thereof where the pressure is low during operation, lowering the suction performance and leading ultimately to a burst.